'We knew it was going to be a difficult game. As we analyzed the Iranian team. We knew they had a suspended player and some injuries, and for both of us, it wasn't ever going to be an easy game," Ramos said.

"We made it difficult for ourselves at the start. We made many mistakes and we weren't calm. After Iran's first goal, the players started to rush, which made it more difficult. We thought we'd play Iran after we'd booked our ticket to the World Cup, and the players were nervous against such a tough opponent,' he added.

Iran head coach Marco Octavio also said they lost to the best beach soccer team in Asia.

'This is a match that could have been the match for the final. These are technically the best teams of Asia. I have to say congratulations to the Japanese team, and I want to say thank you very much to my brave players,' Octavio said.